Whole house · Crafton, PA

Reimagining a 1900 Foursquare

The front hall: a dark oak staircase with turned balusters and paneling, a crystal chandelier, and a stained glass transom over the hall doorway

This 1900 Foursquare in Crafton still had every one of its original wavy-glass windows, which almost never happens anymore. Inside was another story. A 1960s remodel had stripped out nearly all of its historic character, and the whole house was painted Pepto-Bismol pink. Other than those windows, there was almost nothing left to go on.

We took the house down to the studs, and it started telling us its story. Grease-pencil numbers on the framing showed it was a kit house, shipped as numbered, precut lumber and put together on site. Under the pink paint, the original staircase had faux bois, hand-painted wood graining. Under the carpet upstairs, the original fireplace tile was still in place.

The goal was to build it back as if it were of the period, using salvaged and original parts wherever we could. We reintroduced a colonnade between the rooms, installed two salvaged mantelpieces, and brought back the original tile on the upstairs fireplaces. The staircase and the upstairs fireplaces got new faux bois, replicating the graining we found under the paint. New stained glass and thick wood trim finished the house.

Design and build
Zach Harper
The living room before: pink walls, a pink painted fireplace with a mirror above, wall-to-wall carpet, and a tile drop ceiling
Before
The living room taken down to the studs, the ceiling open to the joists and the pink walls still up
Down to the studs
A framing board marked in grease pencil with a kit part number and where it goes
Kit house numbers
The side of the staircase with pink paint flaking away to show the original wood graining underneath
Faux bois under the paint
A column on a paneled pedestal at the wide opening between the dining room and the living room
Colonnade
A carved oak mantel with a mirror above and a deep red tile surround, brass andirons in the firebox
Salvaged mantel
Original amber glazed tile uncovered along the wall as a gloved hand pulls back green carpet
Original tile, under the carpet
The front door open to the porch, its large stained glass panel lit by the low sun
Stained glass
The front hall before: the same staircase and paneling painted pink, a slate tile floor, and a stained glass pendant light
Before
The front hall: a dark oak staircase with turned balusters and paneling, a crystal chandelier, and a stained glass transom over the hall doorway
After

More work

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